Hurricane Irene forced the indefinite postponement of what would have been a momentous occasion today: the formal dedication, led by President Obama, of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial.
Though he is not the first African-American to be memorialized in Washington, King is the first to receive a monument on or near the National Mall.
What makes the postponement of today’s event particularly sad was its exquisite timing: 48 years to the day when, on the steps of the nearby Lincoln Memorial, he delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech — one of the most memorable in American history.
One of the lesser-known lines from that speech — “Out of a mountain of despair, a stone of hope” — is the theme of the 30-foot-high statue and its four-acre site.
Yes, there have been some controversies connected with the monument: Some complained that a black sculptor wasn’t chosen; others have questioned the design.
More significant is criticism of the King family having demanded — and received — more than $800,000 in licensing fees.
No matter, though.
What matters is the monument itself — and its subject.
Martin Luther King galvanized a nation, unleashing a powerful movement for social change and equality.
And he accomplished this fundamental reshaping of American society — not single-handedly, to be sure, but through his visionary leadership — largely through the power of persuasion.
Today’s generation likely can’t begin to understand that just a half-century ago, black Americans in much of the nation not only couldn’t vote or attend the schools of their choice, they couldn’t drink at the same water fountains, eat in the same restaurants or sit in the same bus seats as whites.
And they literally risked their very lives if they dared protest.
Little wonder that for shaking and destroying the very underpinnings of segregation, Dr. King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize — back when that award actually meant something.
And his accomplishments are all the more astonishing when you realize King was but 39 years old when he was cut down by an assassin’s bullet in 1968.
The formal dedication of King’s monument — with appropriate pomp and ceremony — will take place soon enough.
But America today remembers that moment on Aug. 28, 1963, when Martin Luther King bestirred a nation with words that will live forever.